


Pillow talk for fake lovers

by Dunloth



Category: Naruto
Genre: And cantaloupe consumption, Chakra seals, Discord: Umino Hours, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Omg there was only one bed, Pining, Secret Crush, Sharing a Bed, Umino Hours Exchange 2020, Undercover, Undercover as Civilians, maskless Kakashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26138869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunloth/pseuds/Dunloth
Summary: Kakashi and Iruka go on an undercover mission as civilian diplomats. They would be okay with it, if only they didn't have to pretend they're married too. Also, Kakashi is crushing like a teen and Iruka can't stand the sight of him. Or can he? Warning for unwarranted fluff and a bit of angst.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 58
Kudos: 329
Collections: Umino Undercover





	1. Well, this will be funny

**Author's Note:**

  * For [radkoko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radkoko/gifts).



> Written for August exchange in the Umino Hours Discord server, with the prompt Undercover.  
> This is a gift for [Radkoko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radkoko/pseuds/radkoko). I went for your requests of romantic KakaIru with fake relationship and secret crushes (because these are all things I love to bits). I hope you enjoy this fluff fest!  
> Warning for some curse words and mentions of canonical character deaths in the past (Kakashi's past is so sad).  
> Big thanks to [llsilvertail](https://archiveofourown.org/users/llsilvertail/pseuds/llsilvertail) for beta reading.

_ Well, this will be funny. _ Kakashi internally cringed when he read the assigned team section in the mission scroll delivered to Kakashi and Tenzou by Tsunade herself.

“Do your best, Konoha shinobi, and come back safe.” Tsunade dismissed them, going back to her paperwork. Shizune nodded at them before they bowed and left the Godaime’s office. 

Tenzou smiled at Kakashi while they walked the streets of Konoha. “It’s been a long time. I’ve missed doing missions with you, senpai. And with Genma-san.” Tenzou’s smile softened as he threw Kakashi a side look. “Iruka-sensei’s on the mission, too. That might be a bit of an issue.”

Kakashi almost cringed again, but kept his disinterested attitude. “The team is adequate. Iruka-sensei is very good at passing as a civilian. I think I’m good enough at it too.”

Tenzou didn’t comment on Kakashi avoiding his implicit question—he was used to his ways.

They reached the point where their ways parted. Tenzou guessed Kakashi wanted to go to the memorial to talk to his ghosts.

Kakashi waved and smiled with his eye. “See you tomorrow then. North gate, at dawn. Pack for a smooth mission, I don’t expect much fighting in this one. I don’t know why Tsunade is sending you and Genma in, we just have to fool this minor lord and steal back his forbidden scroll. He doesn’t even have shinobi guards. Are you two sure you’re not getting unofficial holidays?”

“Perhaps Tsunade-sama is sending us to make sure Iruka-sensei and you don’t kill each other, while you’re forced to play a married couple,” Tenzou joked, watching Kakashi’s reaction. Kakashi just kept smiling at him, turned around and left.

Tenzou sighed.  _ Well, this will be interesting,  _ he thought, and went home to get everything ready for the mission.

⁂

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone, like he had so many times before.

Pretense was unnecessary in front of the dead. 

_ Honestly, I’m not looking forward to this mission. I don’t want to be anywhere near Iruka. _

Kakashi had to admit he had a bit of a crush on Iruka-sensei.

_ “Come on, BakaKashi, who do you think you’re fooling?” _ Kakashi imagined Obito’s mocking laugh.

Well.

Kakashi rubbed his forehead slowly. He hated to yield, but Obito was right.

It was a lot more than a bit of a crush. It was a huge crush.

That had been going on for almost four years now.

_ By any definition, _ Kakashi finally admitted to himself,  _ I can’t call this a crush anymore. _

_ “Falling in love isn’t so bad, Kakashi-kun. It’s just a natural, human reaction,"  _ Minato-sensei would probably say softly, if he was alive.

_ I’m still surprised to have some of those left. I’m not exactly normal, compared to healthy people. _

_ “Normal is overrated anyway,”  _ Rin would say, sweet as always, trying to cheer Kakashi up. Kakashi smiled at his memory of her, standing with her hands behind her back, almost dancing on her tiptoes, a loving smile on her face, forever fifteen.

He came back to his lonely reality, and his smile died.

_ It doesn’t matter. Iruka is out of my league. He hates my guts. Every time I’m in the same room as him he goes stiff and his expression turns sour. I can almost taste his dislike. _

_ “What did you do to him, BakaKashi?” _

_ I wish I knew. I can’t think of anything I might have done to earn his aversion. We haven’t interacted too much, apart from that mission before he became a teacher—and you already know how it went all kinds of wrong. I wasn’t good enough to keep him safe and he got injured, but I don’t think he blames me for that.  _

_ “It has to be something different then. Think it through, Kakashi-kun. I’m sure you can figure it out if you focus on the right aspect.”  _ Kakashi imagined Minato-sensei’s expression going softer.  _ “But don’t focus only on your thoughts. Let your feelings guide you for once. It’s surprisingly effective for matters of the heart.” _

_ If only I knew how to do that, sensei.  _

Kakashi said goodbye to his dead teammates and went home to pack. He hoped he'd be able to get some sleep that night.

⁂

Iruka fought his impulse to crush the mission scroll in his fist. Then he fought his impulse to storm out of the mission room and barge into Tsunade-sama’s office and tell her how outrageous this mission was. 

He tried to calm down so that his colleagues didn’t freak out; no one wanted to be around Iruka when he had one of his outbursts, and he had to work with these people. Izumo was already looking at him funny, after handing him the damned scroll. 

Iruka read the mission parameters again: a four person team, two in the open as civilians, two hidden from sight as backup. The target was an ancient scroll containing several forbidden jutsu from Konoha that had somehow ended up in Lord Azai’s library, in Tea country. They had to bring it back to Konoha without causing a diplomatic incident. Iruka would play the role of a civilian ambassador, something he’d already done in past missions. 

Nothing outrageous, so far. 

What made Iruka’s blood boil was one apparently innocent line in the description:

_“Umino I, Hatake K. \- undercover. Infiltrate Lord Azai’s mansion as civilian ambassador and husband.”_

The vein in Iruka’s forehead bulged again on re-reading that offending line.

“Is something wrong, Iruka?” Izumo asked warily.

Iruka took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, controlling his temper.

He was a shinobi and this was a mission. It didn’t matter how humiliating and  _ wrong  _ it was. He’d do his duty to Konoha, and do it right, even if that meant having to deal with Hatake Kakashi.

So he unclenched his fists and jaw, and gave Izumo a smile that was only a tad feral. “No, Izumo, thank you, everything is peachy. See you next week.”

“Be careful, Iruka. See you back.” Izumo watched Iruka apprehensively as he left the room, stomping only a bit.

⁂

Iruka, Tenzou and Genma met next early morning on Konoha’s North gate, ready for leaving, as expected. They exchanged some small talk while they made time for their captain to join them—as expected, too. For once, Kakashi only arrived two minutes late, a good way to start, in Iruka’s opinion. Kakashi greeted the team with a bored air and started off. Everyone followed, and so the mission began.

Kakashi was sure Genma and Tenzou were talking behind his back—the three of them had had enough history together to know each other quite well, or at least as well as anyone knew Hatake Kakashi, who was slippery even by normal paranoid shinobi standards of deflection about one’s private life. 

Kakashi was alert when Genma approached him on their second day of travelling, a few hours before they’d get to Tea country and start the serious part of their mission.

As soon as Genma was sure no one was close enough to snoop on them, he went straight to the point.

“Kakashi, I’m worried about the mission. What’s your problem with Iruka? You two don’t talk like civilized people. This isn’t going to end well.”

Kakashi kept his nonchalant attitude. “Are you sure I’m the one you have to talk to? I have no idea what Iruka’s problem with me is. He can’t stand to breathe the same air as me.”

Genma rolled his senbon to the opposite side of his mouth. Kakashi knew him well enough to translate the gesture: Genma was about to say something he would rather not say.

“Mmph. You can be bothersome, but you’re not one to start trouble with people who don’t attack you first. Look, I had a long talk with Iruka and asked him. And he might have a point to be pissed.”

_ Did Iruka notice this weakness of mine?  _ Kakashi cringed and prepared for a blow.

Kakashi wasn’t ready for his feelings to be in the open. Genma was the biggest gossip hunter in the village, matched only by Anko; if their fine-tuned radars for embarrassing affairs hadn’t detected Kakashi’s fixation on Iruka yet, he wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible.

Genma waited for Kakashi to say something. “Man, you really don’t have a clue, do you?”

Kakashi’s voice was bored. “You’re enjoying this a bit too much, Genma. No, I don’t know. Please tell me so we can move on.”

“Iruka thinks you neglected Naruto on purpose.”

Kakashi’s first reaction was relief that his Iruka-problem was still secret and safe, but then he registered the extra information. “What?” He frowned, trying to make sense of it.

“He tried to adopt Naruto when the kid was six, but Sandaime didn’t allow him. He told Iruka that Naruto already had a legal guardian: you.”

Kakashi’s mood went dark. “That’s… Not how it was.”

Those were memories of a time Kakashi didn’t like to revisit. Even as Minato and Kushina’s blood was still staining the ground, Sandaime had told Kakashi they would write him down as Naruto’s guardian—they needed a real person’s name and no one else could know who Naruto’s parents were. It was merely supposed to be a procedure. 

Kakashi was fourteen at the time, and full ANBU. He had offered to take charge of Naruto anyway, but Sandaime refused. They probably didn’t want to lose a valuable ANBU asset like Hound. 

“My orders were to keep away from Naruto.” At least until the orphan was old enough to enter the Academy and receive serious shinobi training, Kakashi recalled.

“Well, at this point I think you need to have a serious talk with Iruka-sensei and share that story with him. Because otherwise you two are going to fuck this up. You need to pull your shit together or this mission is going to go to hell. I’m not going to be the one to explain to the Hokage how your petty discussions made us fail.”

Kakashi wasn’t used to being reprimanded by a no-nonsense Genma, so it took him a couple seconds to react, and by then Genma had already patted his shoulder a bit too hard, and left to his designated formation place at the front of the travelling party.

Clearly, Genma had told Kakashi all he had to tell.

Then it hit Kakashi how fucked he was. Before talking to Genma, Kakashi thought Iruka’s reason to dislike him was probably something hard to change, like taking him for a pervert, or disapproving of his life decisions. But now Kakashi knew Iruka’s actual reason to be angry, and it was something deeper and even more difficult to overcome.

Kakashi’s hopes were low before, but now they plunged to the floor.


	2. Full civilian attire

When the group reached their destination the next morning, Genma and Tenzou discreetly separated from the company and stayed behind at the small town down by the lake. Iruka and Kakashi, in full civilian attire, arrived at Lord Azai’s house one hour later, with the rest of the travelling party. 

The building was vast, more like a clan compound, almost a small village, bristling with servants and people attending to their business in the busy quarter. The people around looked healthy and safe; this Lord was not reported to be cruel or overly incompetent—only some of his ancestors’ fingers were a bit too long when it came to shinobi property, and that was what this mission was trying to amend, without causing too much ruckus. 

Lord Azai reminded Kakashi of the Fire Daimyo—a middle-aged man with mellow features, dressed in rich traditional clothes, looking soft, benevolent and a bit air-headed; but, as with many other nobles, Kakashi suspected he could easily start a tantrum if he was contradicted. Kakashi was determined to avoid that.

Everything went as expected during the initial contact with their mission targets; Iruka played his ambassador role without a hitch. All the time he spent around Sandaime during his official acts paid back; Iruka was used to the manners of the courtiers and diplomats. 

Kakashi admired Iruka’s dignity and grace when responding to Lord Azai’s welcome, respectfully bowing, moving with ease in his elegant clothes. _ Those fine clothes really suit him,  _ Kakashi thought, letting a bit of his admiration pour into his expression. He was playing Iruka’s husband after all.

Kakashi’s mind then produced a very different scene: Iruka wearing his chuunin uniform covered in green goo after one of his students’ pranks, bellowing and running after ten-year-old Naruto, who was the obvious instigator of it all.

Kakashi felt his day brighten a bit at that memory. He found Iruka dazzling in both forms. There was not a single aspect of him that Kakashi didn’t cherish.

Except, perhaps, Iruka’s loathing of Kakashi.

Kakashi continued to play his role as Iruka’s decorative husband spotlessly. He enjoyed the sight of Iruka, careful not to bask too much in what he couldn’t have.

⁂

The rest of their day was mainly spent on killing time. Iruka had a scheduled meeting with Lord Azai at the end of the afternoon, to discuss the fake commercial agreement that was the pretense for their visit. Until then, Kakashi and Iruka spent tedious hours with the servants politely fussing around them, showing them around the house and their accommodations, and feeding them tea and fine treats. 

The time of the meeting arrived, finally, and Iruka left to meet Lord Azai. Kakashi waited in a stylish yard outside the main room, reading a disguised copy of Icha Icha Tactics, and trying to look pretty, as he was expected to. Judging by the blush on the faces of some courtiers and servants, both male and female, it was working quite well—maskless Kakashi usually had that effect on people, even though he didn’t have too many opportunities to play it. He wasn’t using anything more than a minor henge to cover the scar over his left eye, and a contact lens to hide his sharingan. After all, Kakashi’s real face wouldn’t ring a bell for anyone, not even in Konoha.

The carved door opened after a long time. Kakashi watched Iruka come out, appreciating again the way the fine clothes fitted him. He looked tired; Kakashi knew it was another form of pretense—it would’ve been a tiring day for a civilian, but a chuunin shinobi had a lot more stamina than that. This was just another detail that made Iruka so good at civilian undercover missions.

_Stop drooling over him, baka._ _He’s going to catch you,_ Kakashi told himself for the umpteenth time that day.

Kakashi took Iruka’s hand and kissed it, trying to make it look like a normal gesture. “How did the meeting go, love? Everything okay?”

If Iruka thought Kakashi was overdoing their relationship in front of Lord Azai’s court, he seemed unfazed by it. He covered Kakashi’s hand with his, and smiled back at him, his eyes full of artificial affection. Kakashi’s heart did a little somersault in his chest.

“Everything’s perfect, darling. But it’s been an exhausting day. Shall we go to our rooms?”

“Of course.” Kakashi offered his arm to Iruka, and they left for their room. More than a few people watched them with a spark of envy as they left—Iruka and Kakashi really did look like the perfect image of marital bliss.

Iruka’s fond expression changed into an empty one the moment the sliding door of their private guest rooms closed behind them. Kakashi felt like the room had lost some of its brightness.

Iruka made two discreet field hand signs:  _ spies, question mark. _

After doing a quick chakra scan of the room, Kakashi replied directly out loud. “No, we’re not being spied inside these rooms, I checked.”

“Good. I’m going to take a shower. Do you want to go first?”

“No, it’s okay, go on.” It hurt a bit how relieved Iruka was that they didn’t have to keep pretending inside their rooms. For a fleeting second Kakashi’d been tempted to lie to Iruka, to make him keep up his loving, caring façade. 

_ It’s better this way _ , Kakashi tried to console himself. He wouldn’t know what to do if they had to pretend to be a couple in the intimacy of their room, and sleeping together, no less.

Kakashi distracted himself by checking the room. The servants had unpacked their civilian baggage for them. They’d brought no shinobi gear, not for this mission. 

With nothing else to do, Kakashi stood by the wall and looked grimly at the bed. At the king-size only bed in the room. 

Iruka chose that very moment to exit the bathroom, freshly showered and changed into an expensive-looking sleeping yukata. He followed Kakashi’s gaze to the bed.

“Yeah, this is going to be a problem. If you’re sure they’re not watching us, I can sleep on the floor. I’d rather prefer not to share.”

Kakashi felt the irony of having to contradict Iruka on that. He wasn’t really looking forward to sleeping with Iruka either. It would be a special kind of subtle torture, one of the few Kakashi hadn’t experienced before on some mission gone wrong.

“I don’t think we should risk the servants finding us like that. Don’t worry, Iruka. Your honor is safe with me. This bed is big enough, we can keep far from each other.” Kakashi had chosen a joking tone to hide his discomfort.

Iruka nodded, but it was clear he wasn’t happy with the decision. “Right. Don’t you worry, either. I’ll stay far away for sure.”

Kakashi used his shower turn quickly, and changed into his sleeping yukata too. It was very pleasant to the touch, felt almost like silk instead of cotton, and the pattern in its fabric matched Iruka’s, just in cobalt blue instead of musk green—their hosts had an impeccable aesthetic sense. 

Kakashi braced himself before going out back to Iruka. He really hoped he managed not to make a total fool of himself in front of the chuunin in the few days of this mission. He took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door.

The bedroom lights were out, only a small lamp on Iruka’s bedside table cast a soft, intimate light. Iruka was sitting in bed reading, his hair free from his strict ponytail, falling over his face and shoulders like silky chocolate. 

Kakashi’s mouth went dry—he’d never seen Iruka’s hair like that, and it felt incredibly personal. Kakashi forced himself to move before Iruka noticed his reaction, and padded towards the bed.

Iruka gave him an emotionless look and turned to his side to leave his book on the table and turn off the light as Kakashi sat on the bed, ready to lie down. 

Kakashi felt stiff while they both wiggled, trying to get comfortable for the night. The bed was big enough that they weren’t even close to touch, but neither of them were used to sleeping with other people in the same bed and it showed. 

It took some time for them to fall asleep; Iruka obviously didn’t want Kakashi close, and Kakashi’s shinobi reflexes screamed at him to jump out of the bed and get into his familiar sleeping roll in the farthest corner from Iruka. 

After a time that seemed too long, their training took over, and they fell asleep.


	3. Blooming roses

Next morning Iruka woke up first. For a few seconds he didn’t dare to move, disoriented from waking up in an unfamiliar place with another person’s chakra close. Then he remembered everything, and he relaxed. He risked a look at Kakashi, not knowing what he would find.

He fought a burst of laughter.

Kakashi lay with his back turned to Iruka, a wild mop of silver hair around his head. But the image in front of Iruka was proof that Kakashi was a skilled shinobi. No one else would be able to stay asleep on the very edge of the bed like that without falling on the floor. That had to be an ANBU level skill—something related to sleeping on tree branches with deadly enemies around. Iruka was sure if Kakashi moved a single centimetre away from him, he would fall. 

Iruka felt his rejection for Kakashi melt a tiny bit—it was pretty clear that Kakashi wasn’t enjoying this situation either. He lowered his barriers a couple of notches and let a trickle of sympathy for Kakashi seep in.

Iruka just couldn’t help it. Slowly, carefully, he reached one hand, one finger extended towards the sleeping Kakashi, inch by slow inch—and when his finger was close enough to Kakashi’s back, he poked.

Kakashi startled and fell to the floor with a _thud_ , and Iruka covered his mouth to stifle a guffaw.

⁂

After starting his morning in such an unconventional way, Kakashi was grumpy—and Iruka couldn’t blame him. They didn’t exchange a single word while they got washed, dressed and groomed, carefully staying on their own side of the rooms. Kakashi’s grumpiness disappeared the moment they walked out of their bedroom and into the outer world of Lord Azai’s household.

Kakashi’s face was as gentle as the day before as they had breakfast in the garden, inside a fancy pavilion decorated with rose bushes that climbed around the delicate carved trellises of the structure. A haughty white peacock strutted around the garden, followed by his more discreet mate. The general atmosphere looked a bit too much like a fairy tale for Iruka’s preferences, but he couldn’t deny that it was the perfect setting for a young married couple, like Kakashi and he were supposed to be.

_ What a waste of resources, _ Iruka thought with a touch of bitterness.

“Have you tried the cantaloupe, dear? It’s delicious.”

Iruka fought the impulse to roll his eyes. Kakashi really was giving this charade of a marriage his all. “Thank you, honey,” Iruka replied, overly sweet, and closed his mouth around the bit of fruit Kakashi was offering him on a silver fork.

Iruka noticed how Kakashi averted his gaze from his lips at the last second. It only added to the general feeling of discomfort and touch aversion Kakashi was projecting since the start of their mission together.

Well, it kind of made things easier for Iruka, didn’t it? He didn’t like Kakashi and didn’t want him to be close either. This man was the reason Naruto was living alone and no one looked after him. Hell, he was the reason  _ Iruka  _ couldn’t look after him. Iruka found it difficult not to glare daggers at Kakashi these days—but he was a dutiful shinobi, and if the mission required him to pretend that he loved Kakashi, then pretend he would, and without complaining about it.

Everything would’ve been simpler if only Iruka didn’t have to look at Kakashi’s unmasked face. Iruka wasn’t as shallow as to change his opinion of a person based on their looks—but damn, Kakashi’s looks were really something else. He looked like a movie star.

As much as Iruka despised Kakashi, his pulse fastened every time Kakashi did something like feeding him a morsel of cantaloupe, smiling at him like that, while surrounded by the scent of blooming roses. Damn stupid, selfish, sexy jounin. Iruka hated him even more for it.

⁂

Luckily for both of them, this mission wouldn’t last much longer. The scroll recovery was happening on that second evening. Kakashi would sneak into the library with Iruka’s help, get the scroll from its hidden location, and give it to Genma, who would be waiting right outside the building, ready to run away with it. 

After that, Kakashi and Iruka would stay in Lord Azai's house for another two days so no one could blame them if something went wrong and Lord Azai's people searched their possessions. The scroll replacement should go unnoticed; as long as no one caught Kakashi stealing—that is,  _ recovering _ the scroll, or Genma escaping with it, they would be safe.

⁂

After a tedious day of playing the fashionable VIPs role around the compound, the moment of going for the scroll arrived. Iruka was glad—if he had to listen to Kakashi use one more pet name, he was going to lose it and kick someone. Most likely Kakashi himself.

“Do you feel like spending some time in the library with me? I’ve been wanting to see Lord Azai's precious books there.”

Kakashi laughed lazily. “Always the bookworm, beloved. Let’s go if that makes you happy, but I doubt I’ll find my favorite kind of books there, so I might get bored and drag you out for funnier things. You’ve left me a little neglected here.” 

Iruka felt his skin tingle where Kakashi’s hand had settled on his forearm. The sound of Kakashi’s laughter used to grate on Iruka’s nerves every time he heard it around the mission room hallways, but now it had a very different effect on him, especially combined with a sight he’d never expected to see: Kakashi good-humoredly pouting and on the verge of teasing him. 

_ He really has a hidden talent for undercover missions too,  _ Iruka thought. This Kakashi couldn’t be more different from the real one Iruka knew: the cold, detached jounin that didn’t give a shit about anyone as long as he could complete his missions and spend the rest of his time sleeping.

This Kakashi almost looked human and alive.

They made their way to the library through the rich gardens and hallways, making small talk, and making sure the courtiers around saw them just being frivolous and harmless.

They reached the library, and Iruka found it a sight to behold: a big room with wooden walls covered in bookshelves from floor to ceiling, too high to reach in some places, where a sliding staircase provided some help. The books were colorful, enticing, and far too many to be read in a single lifetime. Iruka sighed, thinking that the owners of these wonderful books probably didn’t even remember they owned most of them, but this was the way things were. 

There were two other people in the room, a young nobleman dressed in traditional Tea country clothes, and his concubine, judging by the respectful way she walked a couple steps behind him. They exchanged polite greetings and head bows with Kakashi and Iruka, and went on minding their own business. The couple seemed to be here as part of a tour around the house as guests. They looked bored—they probably weren’t too fond of books anyway, and were just being dutiful guests.

As expected, the couple took less than five minutes to finish their perfunctory visit. They left with more head bows and useless protocol. 

“Alone, at last,” Kakashi said, with a half smile and a lingering teasing tone that Iruka didn’t know how to deal with.

“Yes, alone. Spare me the act, please,” Iruka said, uncomfortable.

“Careful. There still can be someone around,” Kakashi said in a very soft voice. He got close to Iruka, to hide his hands from view, and did some discreet hand signs to run a quick chakra scan. “Nope, no one near. Let’s start. Get close to the door and watch for people coming.”

Kakashi’s tone had become all business again. Iruka felt relieved—but also a bit disappointed. Was he perhaps getting fond of Human Kakashi? He snorted with disbelief as he pretended to be interested in the books on the shelf closest to the door, keeping an eye on the corridor outside.

Behind him, Kakashi started to explore the West wall of the library, looking for a fake wood panel. They only knew the approximate location of the scroll vault.

“I’m going to have to move some shelves,” Kakashi said, disappointed. 

“Make it quick. I can hear people in the corridors, but they’re not coming over here.”

Kakashi closed one of the window curtains making the room much darker. If someone came in, they wouldn’t see too much. Kakashi mostly guided himself by touch and hearing to locate the hollow panel.

Everything was going well until it wasn’t.

“Kakashi, someone’s coming, and fast. A house maid with a handful of books.”

“Shit.” Kakashi stood up from where he was crouching by the wall, with one of the shelves moved to the side. There was no way that he could put it back in its place before the servant got in.

Iruka made a quick decision. He crossed the room towards Kakashi in three fast strides, his expression determined.

“Bear with me,” he said, and grabbed a questioning Kakashi, pinned him to the wall, and kissed him fiercely, right as the maid barged into the room.


	4. Difficult to forget

“Oh! I’m so sorry, pardon me,” the poor servant girl blurted out after opening the library door to their two Konoha guests having an intimate moment. She ran away from the room, her face bright red.

Iruka kissed Kakashi for a second longer than needed after the maid left the room. When he realized they were alone again, he pulled back, and tried not to look at Kakashi’s exposed face—the face Iruka still was trying to get used to seeing without its perpetual mask.

But before averting his gaze out of respect for Kakashi’s privacy, Iruka saw a scene difficult to forget.

Kakashi leaned on the wall, short of breath, closer than ever to Iruka. His lips glistened after their kiss. His features weren’t clearly visible in the dim light of the library, but they were visible enough to be engraved in Iruka’s memories as if they were chiseled in stone.

They were still very close, their bodies pressed together where Iruka pinned Kakashi to the wall—and how did Iruka’s hands get to Kakashi’s nape and hair? He didn’t remember going for that. Kakashi’s hands were pressed against Iruka’s chest, like a last line of defense, like he didn’t know whether to push or pull.

Iruka stepped back, cutting off their contact. He instantly missed Kakashi’s warmth.

He looked for something to say, anything.

“Do you think she bought it?” Iruka said to the floor, giving Kakashi time to compose himself.

Kakashi found his voice back. “I hope she did.” He touched his jaw, and Iruka had the distinct feeling that he was dying to cover his face with his mask.

 _It’s been too long since I’ve gotten some action if I get this giddy from kissing Kakashi._ Iruka tried to be sarcastic, but his own thoughts sounded forced.

“Let’s make good use of the time we bought with this.” Kakashi reacted before Iruka did—after all, he was a jounin. He managed to wash the awkwardness of the scene away and go on pretending nothing happened.

Kakashi crouched by the wall and continued where he’d left off, knocking systematically on the wood panels in the gap between the shelves, until he found one that sounded different, hollow. “This is it. Be ready,” he said.

Iruka nodded. “I’ll set a watch for people coming.” He made the hand signs for a clone. An exact copy of Ambassador Iruka poofed into existence. 

“Go to the door; if someone else comes, distract them and keep them out of the room.” 

Clone Iruka nodded and went to do his duty determinedly, throwing Kakashi a side glance.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was focused on loosening the wood panel that covered their target. It came out at last, and he carefully set it down on the floor. A cabinet was revealed, carved behind the panel.

This was where the mission started to get serious. Kakashi removed the thick contact lens that covered his left eye and let his sharingan glow in the half-light of the library. The three black tomoe spun enticingly around the glowing red pupil—a sight Iruka would never forget, hypnotizing, disturbing. It made his stomach turn. Iruka felt the raw power of the sharingan in his gut and wished he could run away, but he stayed and fought his primal abhorrence of the sharingan’s dark power.

“As we thought, there’s a seal,” Kakashi informed Iruka. “A tricky one”

Kakashi focused his sharingan on the seal. The chakra vibrated for him inside the seal circuits, following a distinct rhythm, flowing through the labyrinthine patterns.

“It’s connected to the house wards,” Kakashi said with a note of dismay.

“There are house chakra wards? I didn’t think the Lord cared about shinobi guards and security measures.”

“He doesn’t, but these wards are old. They belong to the house itself and are here to stay. I don’t even think they respond to anyone alive anymore.”

“So, what do we do?” Iruka was frustrated. He couldn’t help much with this part of the mission.

“I’ll try not to disturb the wards. I can detach this seal from them and then disable it. It has to be quick, and it will take more chakra that I was planning on using.” Kakashi closed the capsule of his contact lens and secured it in a hidden pocket of his robe. “Iruka, I think you’ll have to carry me to our room after this.”

Iruka was sure this was more dangerous for Kakashi than what he was telling him. He knew enough about chakra depletion and its risks. But Kakashi was the mission leader. Iruka wouldn’t try to stop him just because he worried.

“Okay. Do your best, Kakashi.” Iruka knew Kakashi was one of the best seals experts in Konoha, taught by the Yondaime himself. He prepared for an interesting seal defusing.

Kakashi studied the seal for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he raised his left hand—he was left-handed, Iruka noticed—and carefully touched three very specific points in the seal lines with three fingers, and made a pinching and twisting movement at the same time that he infused a burst of chakra into the seal. A powerful spark surged from the seal, sucking in a big load of Kakashi’s energy, making the hairs on their bodies stand on end with lightning chakra. Then the low-frequency chakra humming emitted by the seal stopped altogether, at the same time that Kakashi blacked out without a sound.

Iruka caught Kakashi before he could hit his head on the floor, and laid him down carefully.

He would have to finish the job in Kakashi’s place.

Iruka touched the dead seal tentatively, to check that it would not fry him. It didn’t react at all, so Iruka decided it was okay to go on. He opened the cabinet door and took the single scroll that was inside. The decorated paper roll looked old and delicate; it matched the pictures in their mission parameters, and the decoy scroll in Iruka’s pocket.

Iruka hurried to the first window on the North wall of the room and sent a chakra flare pulsing in the convened code. Soon after, a familiar face chewing on a senbon appeared behind the window.

“Took you long enough. I thought we were going to abort. What was that fireworks party inside two minutes ago?”

“Kakashi was trying to impress me. Here,” Iruka handed the scroll to Genma, “less talking and more running away. See you back at the meeting point.” Iruka grinned, and Genma smiled back at him.

“Take care, you both. See you back in two days.” Genma jumped on the compound’s tiled roofs and disappeared from sight swiftly.

Iruka let some of his tension go. The dangerous part of their mission was complete.

He turned to Kakashi’s form, limp on the floor. _Almost complete,_ he thought.

Iruka crouched back by the secret vault on the wall. He got the decoy scroll from his pocket and set it in the cabinet, closed it, and put the wooden panel back into its place. He finished his job by pushing the bookshelf back, filling the gap in the wall.

Now, even if they got caught by the servants, the risk was over. They would only be accused of intruding in the house dependencies to make out. It was hardly a punishable crime.

Iruka thanked his clone for his good work—an unnecessary gesture, but it just felt right—and dispelled it. Then he grabbed hold of Kakashi with an arm around his waist. He threw a light henge over the two of them to make it look like Kakashi was drunken or indisposed, instead of unconscious, and made his way back to their room, hoping they wouldn’t find too many people on their way.


	5. Unusually warm

Kakashi came back to consciousness later that evening in their shared room, alone on his side of the big bed. 

He was glad Iruka wasn’t there. Kakashi was going to need some time to process what happened in the library two hours earlier.

His mind went back to that scene: their mission almost going to hell in a second, Kakashi standing by reflex when he heard Iruka’s warning, and then Iruka pressing him into the wall. It caught him by surprise. He was looking for a way to save their mission and then Iruka’s mouth was on his face and he just…

He froze.

It must have been the worst kiss in Iruka’s life. Kakashi reacted like a dead fish. Surely Iruka thought now that Kakashi was the most anti-erotic person in Fire country. Kakashi pressed his hands over his eyes and wished the earth would open and swallow him.

_ Is this all you’re worried about, that Iruka thinks you're a bad kisser? Lame, Kakashi. No wonder he doesn’t give a shit about you. _

That nasty voice his therapist tried to help him silence for so long was there again. It wasn’t as bad as back in his worst days—Kakashi had his dissociated personalities almost under control nowadays. But his worst self-deprecating voice was especially good at finding him at his lowest moments. 

_ A real kiss would have been nice, at least once. If I had reacted better at least I’d have that to keep with me when we’re back,  _ one of his other inner voices said, a kinder one.

Iruka’s hands on his neck and hair were real, though. Iruka was very good at touching and kissing. There was no tongue, sadly. Kakashi would have liked some tongue. 

_ I guess he only gives tongue after the third date or something like that. _

“Are you all right?” Iruka’s voice startled him. He was leaning on the frame of the wide sliding door, looking stunning in his green yukata. His hair was still tied up, though. Kakashi already missed Iruka’s hair down.  _ But beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.  _ Yukata Iruka was more than enough.

Kakashi attempted to appear nonchalant. “I’ll be soon. My chakra was drained too fast, but it’s not too serious. A good night’s sleep, and I’ll be ready for duty again.” Kakashi pushed his silly ramblings below the surface again and smiled a fake smile for Iruka. “Was everything okay after I passed out?”

“Yes, Genma took the scroll, I planted the decoy, and left everything as it was before. Easy peasy. I think this mission is done.”

Was Iruka smiling at Kakashi even if no one was watching? That was a new thing.

_ Perhaps he liked my kiss after all,  _ his mischievous voice added, before going silent for good that night.

Iruka walked closer and sat on the bed. Kakashi would have liked to sit too, but his muscles still wouldn’t respond for several hours, until his body got some of its chakra back.

Iruka tensed, looking embarrassed. He looked into Kakashi’s open eye—Kakashi wasn’t wearing his sharingan contact lens, so he kept his left eye closed—and braved the words that were burning him inside.

“Kakashi, about what happened before, I wanted to apologize. I couldn’t think of a better way to save the situation. Please, don’t think I was trying to take advantage of you. It won’t happen again.”

Kakashi ignored how that last part stung, but appreciated Iruka’s effort to keep the air clean between them while the mission lasted. “No need to apologize, Iruka. It was a good reaction given the situation. It worked, and it got the mission complete. Let’s not talk about it again, and that’s all.”

Iruka nodded, looking relieved. Then he left Kakashi alone again.

⁂

The rest of the night passed quietly, with Kakashi recovering. By midnight he was able to go to the bathroom almost on his own, and to eat some soup that the servants left in front of their room doors, though he was still too shaky to feed himself and Iruka had to help him. Iruka had told the servants that his husband was indisposed. By this point all the service members in the household had probably heard about their indiscretion in the library, but Iruka didn’t care—it even reinforced their cover. 

Iruka and Kakashi didn’t talk about the Kiss Incident anymore, indeed. 

⁂

The next morning Iruka woke up first again. Kakashi was resting still fairly away from Iruka, close to the edge of the mattress, but not precariously balancing on it. He lay on his back, deeply asleep.

Iruka watched him. He must have been still exhausted, Iruka thought. Chakra depletion was a bitch, even a moderate case like this one. Iruka didn’t envy the way Kakashi would feel when he’d wake up.

Iruka felt like an intruder looking at Kakashi’s exposed face, but he kept on looking anyway, fascinated. He guessed that if Kakashi would’ve minded Iruka looking at his face, he could have put a mask on to sleep, and he didn’t anyway. So that must count as permission to peep, right?

Sleeping Kakashi looked younger, deceivingly harmless. Iruka studied his features—how his eyelashes were deep black even if the rest of his hair was silver, the one-day old stubble on his cheeks and chin, the rugged vertical scar that crossed his face over his left eye. That wound must have hurt a lot, and Iruka knew Kakashi was a child on a war mission when he got it. He suspected it was related to how Kakashi got the sharingan, but he didn’t know the details. 

Iruka didn’t need to know the details to know it all must have been very traumatic for a kid. 

He couldn’t start to imagine how hard Kakashi’s life must have been. It would explain why Kakashi was such a detached and cold person. Why he would do the things he did. 

Why he had been an asshole to Naruto.

Kakashi stirred then, and half-opened his right eye to find Iruka laying on his side, resting on an elbow, a hand supporting his cheek, and looking at Kakashi unnervingly, lost in his own thoughts.

“What happened?” Kakashi mumbled, not knowing what else to say, still half asleep.

“Good morning to you too,” Iruka teased him. “Did you rest well?”

Kakashi stretched, groaned, and did a quick check of his systems. Everything was in its place, including the overwhelming mega-hangover feeling of his recent chakra depletion.

“Like a log. I feel much better.”

“Good. Ready for today’s role playing?”

“As ready as I'll be.”

Kakashi rubbed his face. Unlike Iruka, he clearly wasn’t a morning person, and needed his time to start the day.

Iruka jumped out of the bed and went to the bathroom. Five minutes later Kakashi got out of the bed too. 

This morning, while they were getting dressed and ready for the day, the silence between them didn’t feel as uncomfortable as the previous day.

Iruka found it difficult to focus on choosing his clothes. His memory kept going back to the day before, to the scene in the library and that rushed kiss. 

It had been a terrible kiss. As exciting as the idea of kissing Kakashi might be, the real thing had been quite disappointing.

_ I guess Kakashi would do much better if he was in the mood,  _ Iruka joked to himself. _ And when did I start to think kissing Kakashi would be exciting? _

But there was something else. Iruka kept going back to Kakashi’s expression after they kissed. He had expected Kakashi to react with anger, with disgust, even with indifference—but what he saw in Kakashi’s eyes for a fleeting moment after stepping away from him was nothing like that.

It looked like hurt.

Iruka cursed. It just didn’t make sense.

He was good at reading people. Iruka’s radar rarely failed—his most stellar mistake had been Mizuki. It didn’t happen again.

And after getting to know Kakashi a bit better over the last days, Iruka’s radar was starting to tell him that Kakashi was someone he could trust.

Iruka gave a final tug on his hair tie and huffed. There was no way someone who had been so mean to Naruto was a good person. His radar must be wrong. 

The pieces just didn’t click. Kakashi was a difficult puzzle to crack.

The target of Iruka’s ruminations stepped out of the dressing room, looking gorgeous in his outfit one more day.

“Ready?” Kakashi said with a charming smile, applying the henge over his scar. 

Iruka pushed his musings down and nodded confidently. “Yes. Let’s go and finish this.”

They got in character and went out to play their parts for the rest of the day.

⁂

As expected, no one had noticed the substitution of the scroll, so there was no investigation at all. Iruka and Kakashi enjoyed a quiet day in the fancy compound, flirted lazily, and fed the bored courtiers some more bits of gossip. 

This kind of performance could be quite tiring in its own way, so when the night arrived Kakashi and Iruka were glad to go back to their rooms and call it a day. They didn’t talk much after they got back into the privacy of their rooms—exchanging pet names and niceties all day long had drained their social batteries. 

That night they fell asleep much faster than the previous ones.

⁂

The next morning was their last in Lord Azai’s house. This time Iruka didn’t wake up first. Kakashi woke up at dawn, feeling content and warm. 

Unusually warm.

He opened a tentative eye to discover that he had moved in his sleep and he was facing Iruka, much closer than the chuunin would probably like, and he’d loosely thrown an arm around Iruka’s waist, in a strange protective gesture. 

Kakashi froze, half panicking, half entranced by Iruka’s closeness.

Kakashi looked at Iruka’s relaxed face, so close to his own, in the soft light of dawn. 

He let his imagination fly to a fantasy world where he would be able to see this wonderful sight without fearing that Iruka would catch him. They would wake up like this in the mornings, and Iruka would open his eyes and look at him with fondness, not with contempt; Iruka would reach out to him—perhaps pull him closer, hide his face on Kakashi’s neck, run his fingers through Kakashi’s hair, like he had in the library. He would snuggle closer to Kakashi and beg him to stay in bed five minutes longer. 

The real Iruka woke up while Kakashi was lost in his fantasy, and saw Kakashi looking at him with a soft expression, like he was daydreaming—and hugging his waist.

Iruka frowned. “What are you doing?” he said, confused. 

Kakashi jerked back like he’d been burned. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, jumping out of the bed.

“Wait!” Iruka grabbed Kakashi’s wrist before he could flee, making him miscalculate his jump. Kakashi fell for the second time to the floor by the bed with a heavy  _ thud. _

“Don’t run away! I mean it, what was that? Why were you holding me?”

“I wasn’t holding you. I moved in my sleep and woke up like that.”

“You were perfectly awake. Why didn’t you move away? What did you want?”

Kakashi started to lose his cool. “Iruka, just let it go, alright? I tend to get cold at night, and you’re a fucking heater. I just moved closer without noticing.”

Iruka narrowed his eyes at Kakashi, trying to decide if he should get angry at him or not. Kakashi lay on his side where he had landed on the floor, one leg still up resting on the bed. He looked embarrassed—his hand went up again to his face like it did in the library, like he felt exposed. 

Iruka made up his mind. He smirked. “If you wanted to cuddle you should have just asked nicely.”

Kakashi froze again—it happened a lot when he was around Iruka. Then he reacted, almost spluttering. “I don’t  _ cuddle. _ I’ve never cuddled in my life.”

“And it shows. Come on, it’s too early for this. Get back into bed and let’s sleep a little more. It’s our last day in these nice rooms, we might as well enjoy them as long as we can. Honestly, this mission is like a paid holiday in a luxury resort.”

And just like that, Iruka turned around and lay down, pulling the sheets over him, ready to go back to sleep.

From his place on the cold floor, Kakashi looked at Iruka’s brown hair spilled over the pillow, all that was visible from him, warmly nested in the sheets. _How does he do it?_ Kakashi marveled. Iruka threw him out of his depth every single time. It was both unsettling and addictive. 

Slowly, Kakashi climbed into the bed again. He still was tired and could use a bit more sleep before the sun got high.

“I don’t mind if you cuddle. Suit yourself,” Iruka’s muffled words floated in the half-lit room. Kakashi stayed in his spot away from Iruka and willed himself back to sleep. 


	6. The simple truth

There was no more cuddling that morning.

Kakashi woke up for the second time that day when he felt Iruka starting to move and stretch. A couple of hours had passed since dawn; the bedroom was bathed in vibrant sunlight. It was time to wake up for good, but Kakashi wanted to stay a little longer. It was nice to be warm, calm and close to Iruka.

“I know you’re awake. I can hear you thinking." Iruka chuckled. "Good morning, Kakashi!”

“Good morning, Iruka.” Kakashi didn’t want to disturb the peaceful mood. Iruka didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get out of bed, either. They just stayed like that for a while, content and cozy, each one on their side of the big bed.

Iruka broke the silence.

“You know, Kakashi, you’re not what I expected.”

“And what was it you expected?”

Iruka turned on his side to face Kakashi, a relaxed smile on his face. “For a start, I didn’t think you would care about my opinion of you. Not even enough to dislike it.”

“They call me _Friend-Killer Kakashi._ Do you think it would be good for me if I cared? I got used to not caring way back.”

“I can understand that. I know it hasn't been easy for you.”

Kakashi didn’t reply at first. _What can one reply to that?_

“But I do care about _your_ opinion, if you wanted to share it.” Kakashi left his reluctance to talk about personal matters aside for once—this was probably his last chance to talk to Iruka intimately, like this. It was worth being uncomfortable.

“Mmm, I don’t know, Kakashi. I’m not sure you could take it like a grownup.”

“Try me.” Kakashi turned on his side too, facing Iruka, calmly defiant.

Iruka chuckled. “Okay, considering this is our third night sleeping together, I think we should have enough trust by now.”

Kakashi just nodded, waiting. Iruka looked like he was choosing his words carefully.

“I think you’re a great shinobi, but not such a great person.”

Kakashi nodded again, unfazed. Iruka got it as permission to go on.

“You are ready to give your everything for Konoha, but you don’t care about its people. And I don’t get it. I’ve seen you fight, and you don’t strike me as a cruel person. Hell, you’d die for your teammates. I don’t understand how you can be honorable like that, and at the same time you can be such an asshole.”

Kakashi flinched, and Iruka’s eyes went wide when he realized what he’d just said. He extended a placating hand.

“Damn Kakashi, I'm sorry. I went too far—”

“No, Iruka, don’t apologize. I think I should be the one apologizing.”

Iruka was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Kakashi sat up, unable to look Iruka in the eyes. “For a long time I’ve known that you can’t stand the sight of me.” Kakashi saw Iruka open his mouth, ready to speak, and he raised a hand to stop him. “No, Iruka, let me go on, please. It’s true that I don’t care much about other people’s reactions to me, but as I said I care about yours, and I have a working eye in my face. I knew you didn’t like me, and I had no idea why. But a few days ago I found out the reason for your grudge. I’ve wanted to talk to you since then.”

Kakashi took a deep breath and dove into it.

“Some years ago you tried to adopt Naruto, is it true?”

Iruka frowned and tensed. “Yes. Who told you?”

“It doesn’t matter. Sandaime didn’t let you, because I was already Naruto’s legal guardian, right?”

“Yes.” Iruka had a pained, defensive expression. He waited for what Kakashi had to say.

“I can’t stand the idea that you hate me because you think I harmed Naruto on purpose. I want to tell you my side of things, if you would allow me.” Kakashi looked at Iruka, his dark grey eye somewhat pleading.

Iruka nodded, wary.

“It was a difficult time for me when Naruto was born. I had a lot on my plate at that time. I was ANBU.”

Iruka filled in the voids for what Kakashi was not saying. Being ANBU really didn’t leave space for much else in one’s life, even less for a family. “Wait, how could you be ANBU? How old were you?”

“Fourteen.” Kakashi ignored the expressive raising of Iruka’s eyebrows and went on. “Sandaime ordered me to sign as Naruto’s legal guardian, but to keep away from him. I knew Naruto was neglected, and it pissed me off. I thought about sending Sandaime’s orders to hell, getting out of ANBU, moving back into the old Hatake compound, and taking Naruto with me. But every time I considered doing it, my common sense reminded me that I was far from ready to take care of Naruto. That I would probably ruin Naruto’s life.” _Like I had ruined the lives of everyone that was ever close to me,_ Kakashi’s worst voice added silently.

Iruka lifted himself on one elbow to look into Kakashi’s eye for a couple of silent minutes. A lot more things made sense to him now. An ANBU didn’t simply go against their orders—it often meant death. But there were so many _wrong_ things with what Kakashi’d just told him, he didn’t know where to start.

“I get that your hands were tied. Anyway, did you seriously think Naruto was better off living alone at six than he would be living with you?”

“Yes.” Kakashi couldn’t think of a better answer. It was the simple truth.

Iruka looked at him like he was looking into the very core of his soul.

“Kakashi, that wasn’t common sense. That was your trauma talking.”

Kakashi didn’t know how to reply to that. “Should I feel bad about it? Because I think it was right.”

Iruka burst out. “Damn, Kakashi! No, it was not right. It was totally wrong! Naruto was a kid, no kid should have to fend for himself at six! Is that so difficult to understand? What’s wrong with you shinobi elite? Kids should not live on their own! They need people to look after them. They need to feel loved.”

Kakashi was going to reply to Iruka’s outburst with “ _I lived alone since six too,_ ” but he saw the tears pooled in Iruka’s eyes and thought better of it.

“If you couldn’t do it, why didn’t you allow anyone else to take care of Naruto?”

Kakashi lowered his gaze again. “I didn’t have a say on it. That’s a question you’d have to ask someone who can’t answer anymore.”

They both knew Sandaime had to make many questionable decisions during his time as Hokage. As one of his most trusted ANBU members, Kakashi had seen many of them first-hand. His image of Sarutobi Hiruzen was much more ambiguous than Iruka’s. But Kakashi knew Sandaime was a father figure to Iruka, and he didn’t want to tarnish Iruka's memories of him.

“Iruka, this hasn’t been fair to Naruto, neither to you. I’m sure I could have done better, but I didn’t know how. I wish I had found a way. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me ever again.”

Kakashi threw a troubled look at Iruka and got up from the bed, ignoring the ghost pain of chakra-depletion he still felt in his muscles. He walked two steps away under Iruka’s burning gaze, turned around and kneeled on the floor, solemn.

“For abandoning Naruto and leaving him alone, I deeply apologize.” Kakashi said with a voice that for once was not emotionless, but filled with sorrow. Then he prostrated himself in a deep bow, lowering his forehead to the floor, and stayed like that.

After endless moments of nothing, Kakashi heard a rustling of clothes and felt the air moving, and then gentle hands pulled him up by his shoulders. He reluctantly sat up again, and opened both eyes to see Iruka kneeling in front of him, with tears running down his face, but also a fond expression. “I forgive you,” Iruka said, and crushed him into a hug.

Kakashi stayed on his knees, letting the pressure and the warmth of Iruka’s hug seep into his tired soul. After some time, he tentatively put his arms around Iruka too.

A soft knock on the suite doors broke the moment. A polite maid’s voice came from the other side. “Good morning, sirs. Breakfast is about to be served for you in the Peacock Pavilion.”

“Thank you! We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Iruka replied with a fake light voice, without loosening his hug a bit.

“We should hurry. We can’t miss the cantaloupe, don’t you think?” Iruka whispered into Kakashi’s ear, warmly.

They slowly pulled away and stood up to start their silent morning routine, for the last time. 

As he got dressed in his elaborated civilian clothes one last time, Kakashi felt strange, like Iruka’s forgiveness had removed a lifelong burden from his soul. The atmosphere between them had changed to something new and weightless. It was exhilarating.

Kakashi felt much better in a world where Iruka smiled at him even when there was no one else around.


	7. A single little step

There was not much left to the mission. On their last day in Lord Azai’s house, Iruka and Kakashi played their role as a spoiled couple for a few more hours, until their scheduled departure time at mid afternoon. They bowed to Lord Azai and thanked him profusely for his hospitality, and left the compound under the watchful eye of the courtiers. As Iruka had said, _easy peasy._

Tenzou and Genma joined them at the meeting point away from the compound. After a couple of hours of travelling, Iruka and Kakashi changed back into their shinobi uniforms, relieved.

Kakashi thought he would miss Iruka’s gorgeous looks in the civilian clothes, but his stomach danced a bit when he saw Iruka wearing his chuunin uniform and his perky ponytail. He liked the real Iruka better.

Iruka, however, couldn’t help but mourn the loss of Kakashi’s face under his disappointing mask.

The rest of the trip was placidly uneventful. The team stopped for the night at a cheap inn on the way. The four of them shared a room big enough for their futons to be far apart—they didn’t have to huddle together to sleep.

Kakashi didn’t miss the strain of sleeping close to Iruka without making a fool of himself, but he wasn’t looking forward to going back to his empty apartment either.

The night passed by soon enough; they left early in the morning, and by late afternoon they reached the gates of Konoha and went straight to the Hokage tower to deliver the recovered scroll and the mission report.

⁂

The chuunin at the mission desk thanked Kakashi for his hard work and filed his report, which was acceptable enough by his standards—Iruka probably would’ve asked him to correct a couple of points, but he wasn’t the one checking it, luckily for Kakashi.

Kakashi left the mission room and met Iruka, who was waiting for him in the corridor right outside. 

They stood in front of each other, not wanting to go their separate ways, but with no reason to stay together anymore.

“I’ll miss our bedtime conversations,” Iruka said, grinning at Kakashi.

“I’m not sure I will,” Kakashi joked. “I don’t like to be mocked and bossed around, you know? I don’t like to be thrown out of bed to the floor either. You did that twice.”

Iruka looked at Kakashi, at the hint of a smile under his mask—at how relaxed he looked, how he seemed to be enjoying his time with Iruka and didn’t want to leave him. He watched this new Kakashi that seemed so very different from the one that started the mission a week ago.

Iruka decided to risk it.

“No, I think you kind of like it, but only when I do it.” Iruka stepped closer to Kakashi, a single little step that made a world of difference, that put him into Kakashi’s personal space, past their self-imposed barriers.

Kakashi didn’t step back.

“And why would you think so, sensei?” Kakashi still smiled, but the look in his eye had changed to something more intense, something exhilarating to Iruka.

“Because each night we were married you moved a little closer to me in your sleep. Even after I gave you a piece of my mind.”

 _And a piece of my heart,_ Iruka thought, but it was too soon to say something like that aloud.

Iruka stepped even closer to Kakashi and leaned on him, holding onto the scroll pockets on his flak jacket. “I’m glad I found you on this mission, Kakashi. It was a nice surprise. I would like to keep you close.”

Kakashi put his arms around Iruka. “Are you sure? I’m not really good news. I come with baggage.” Kakashi wasn’t exactly joking anymore.

“And who doesn’t?” Iruka whispered, and leaned over to kiss Kakashi through his mask.

It wasn’t the best of kisses, again. Iruka recoiled, making a face.

“This is disgusting.”

Kakashi laughed. Then he glanced around and walked back enticingly, pulling Iruka with him until they were leaning on the wall in the darkest corner of the corridor, hidden from the sight of anyone who walked by.

“We have an awful kiss record. Let’s start from scratch, okay?” Kakashi said while he pushed his mask down his chin and pulled Iruka to him, putting his very soul into their kiss.

This time, when they parted, their knees were wobbly.

“Wow,” Iruka said, breathless.

“Yes, wow.” Kakashi’s heart beat like a drum.

⁂

“Eloquent, much?” Tenzou said to Genma, from the far side of the corridor, where they both were pretending to mind their own business.

Genma nudged at him. “Shut up. I want to hear.”

They were both delighted.

⁂

After a couple more kisses, Kakashi and Iruka confirmed that they were good enough at it and they shouldn’t worry about that specific side of their relationship.

When things started to get a bit more heated, they decided to take it to a private place—making out in the Hokage tower corridors clearly wasn’t a good idea.

⁂

“Damn it. I guess it’s a tie. We will never know who won the bet,” Tenzou cursed when he saw the smoke from the teleportation jutsu.

“Uh-uh, don’t try to sneak out, man. I don’t need to see what’s going to happen. I said they’d get together on this mission, and they did. So, pay.”

“Well, to be fair, they didn’t get together _on_ the mission. They did _after_ the mission.”

“Come on, don’t be stingy, that’s a technicality and you know it!”

Their banter got lost while they walked away down the main street of Konoha.

⁂

The morning after, Kakashi woke up in his not-so-big bed, warm, content and with Iruka’s placid sleeping face in front of him, and his arm around Iruka’s waist. This time, when Iruka opened his eyes and found Kakashi looking at him and smiling like a dork, he smiled back and hugged Kakashi closer, nuzzling his neck, and caressing his messy hair.

“Kakashi,” Iruka called him, when Kakashi jumped out of bed to make breakfast.

“Mmh?” he turned around.

“Can we have cantaloupe?”

Kakashi smiled his dazzling movie star smile. “Yes, darling.”


End file.
